Vivent Les Mariés
by YouNeverCanTell
Summary: [Emily x Alison] Five years after Charlotte is hospitalized, Alison sends out a different kind of Bat Signal: invitations to an informal engagement party for herself and Emily Fields. But bliss never lasts long for the liars, as they rediscover when an unexpected guest at the celebration turns a joyous occasion into a waking nightmare. [AU]


**_AN:_** _This is my first fanfiction for Pretty Little Liars. I've always liked Emison and Emily in general since I love femslash, but I never expected to write for the series. Yet, Tuesday's episode made a plot bunny start hopping in my head.  
_ ** _Pairings:_** _Emily/Alison-centric, Hanna/Caleb, Aria/Ezra, Aria/Jason, Spencer/Caleb, Spencer/Toby.  
_ ** _AU:_** _It's a rewrite of the last half of S6 and all of S7. It has similar themes but I intend to make it my own as best as I can.  
_ ** _Beta:_** _electric gurrl  
_ ** _Warnings:_** _Sexual Content, Mild Coarse Language, Nongraphic Torture.  
_ ** _Disclaimer:_** _I don't own Pretty Little Liars._

* * *

 **Vivent Les Mariés**

* * *

Maybe you were all faster than me  
We gave each other up so easily  
These silly little wounds will never mend  
I feel so far from where I've been  
So I go, and I will not be back here again  
I'm gone as the day is fading on white houses  
I lie, put my injuries all in the dust  
In my heart is the five of us  
("White Houses" — Vanessa Carlton)

* * *

On a chilly summer night, Alison DiLaurentis sits at a café in Paris, sipping a fancy latte across from the friend she dragged along with her on this vacation. Emily fiddles with her phone and ignores her evening croissant and cup of coffee. The check sits on the table, paid despite the fact that it seems the girls will never leave their seats.

Ali is in the midst of fulfilling a lifelong dream, and not at all nervous about what she intends to do tonight. Alison knows Emily would _die_ for her, and, therefore, in no universe would she decline. Alison huffs when she checks the time.

"We're going to be late to the Eiffel Tower," complains Alison, and she stands up, not wobbling for a second on her high heels. "We should get going."

Emily looks up at her and sets down her phone, slightly puzzled. "We haven't finished our drinks yet."

Alison exaggeratedly glances over each shoulder, and then down at the remaining drops of latte in her fancy cup. She then smirks at her companion.

"How very scandalous, Em," Alison teases, extending a hand and helping the former swimmer to her feet. "Why don't we walk on the wild side for once?"

"I…" Emily uneasily rises. "Yeah. Okay."

They walk through the romantic streets of Paris side by side. Emily tries not to think about how much she wishes this trip could turn into at least a kiss. She always avoids those thoughts about Alison, but they surface time and time again.

Together, the women take a car and arrive at the tower. Alison hustles, grabbing Emily by the hand to weave through the crowds. She glances at the clock on her phone and sees she has less than ten minutes before the Eiffel Tower will light up in bright, beautiful, blinding light.

They finally make it to the third floor while Alison grows increasingly more impatient. Emily rubs her lips together, feeling the tension radiating from her friend.

Alison slips through the crowd, still dragging Emily behind her. Once they reach the edge, Alison reaches into her Chanel purse and withdraws the ring box. Emily stands, gripping a railing and gazing out, awestruck by the sights.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Emily remarks, subtly smiling.

"Turn around to see something prettier," Alison says.

"You?" Emily visibly blushes; the illuminating building showcases it.

"No. This ring." Alison opens the box, revealing a glittering classic halo ring, diamonds set against pure silver.

"It's very nice. It'll look great on you."

Alison laughs. Emily looks humiliated and Alison quickly grabs onto her arm.

"I'm asking _you_ to wear it."

"Oh. Thank you; I don't really have a gift, though."

"I'm asking you to wear it to our wedding."

Emily's lips part in shock.

* * *

When Aria gets the text, she is poring over a debut novel by a fresh new author. She has lost track of track changes and has forgotten her coffee has become cold. Then her phone lights up and she flinches like she always has for years. When she picks it up, she sees the message and then sees her bewildered expression reflected on her laptop screen.

When Spencer gets the text, she is in a coffee shop near Capitol Hill waiting for a no-show potential investor. She picks up her phone and almost spills her drink.

When Hanna gets the text, she is buying gum. The same judgy guy who always works at this shop conveniently on her commute stares at her. Last time he asked _'again'_ like he could ever understand. She picks up her phone and sets down the gum she is trying to weigh in her hand. She cocks an eyebrow and stares at her iPhone.

None of them say no.

This might be what they all need.

* * *

Back in Rosewood for the first time in years, Emily Fields stands in Alison's house and absentmindedly twists her glittering diamond ring around her finger. In only a few days, the young women she has not seen in ages will be arriving in town. Like she did only a week ago.

The engagement party is the following weekend and everyone offered to come to town early and buy dresses and catch up, as if they were nostalgic for a time that they wanted to forget.

Maybe this was rushed. Yes, Emily _knows_ this was rushed. They never even dated and now they are going to get married. Emily tries to be more calculated than that, and she never imagined she would break this kind of news by sending out a group text to her old friends.

Even her mom still does not know. She _did_ know that Alison had been the exact person Emily needed after her dad died, and that counts for something. Still, she did not know that Emily dropped out of school, ran off to Paris and got engaged there.

But now Emily has returned Rosewood and her dirty laundry will be aired out. No, she does not want to think of it all as dirty. She is happy with and proud of her engagement. The rest of the past five years of her life, however…

She sighs and sits down, removing her dark red leather jacket and folding it on her lap. Alison is running late, which always makes her start to panic. If you lose enough people that becomes a problem. Thankfully, right as that thought occurs to Emily, the door opens and Alison walks in with the Jamba Juice order and a Redbox.

"You look miserable," Ali remarks. "Did someone kill your cat?" Then she laughs. "Do you remember Kitty Kitty Princess?"

That manages to make Emily smile.

"She was such a good cat," she fondly recalls.

Ali's eyes sparkle as she remarks, "With such a ridiculous name."

"I was a little kid when I got her," Emily says.

"So," Alison says as she hands Emily her bright orange juice, "I was thinking about the people I want to be at my wedding. I don't really have much family left, so I want my sister there."

"You aren't asking, are you?" Emily murmurs.

"I'm asking. Trust me. We wouldn't even have to do anything drastic. I had a supervised visit with her a year ago and it went great. She's not under as much lockdown as before." Ali shoots Emily a very persuasive pearly white smile. "We could go visit her this weekend and tell her in the news in person. Would you like that?"

"But the girls get here on Sunday."

Alison says, "Then we'll go on Saturday."

"Oh."

"Then it's settled." Alison smiles and sips her juice.

Emily knits her brow but decides she might as well face her worst fear and visit Charlotte.

She always wanted to be bolder.

* * *

On Saturday, Emily chews her lower lip to shreds on the drive to the hospital. Alison plays songs she knows Emily likes but does not know what she should say in this situation. She honestly never knew how to remedy those nightmares of the dollhouse or anything else related. In fact, she honestly never knew how to console a person.

"So, you've visited her and it's been fine?" Emily pipes up.

"Yeah. I meant to tell you about it in Paris but I was kind of worried it would kill our whole carefree romantic vibe." Ali changes the song and Emily closes her eyes and listens. "We're going to have an amazing wedding, and we deserve to have everyone we love there."

Emily has an awful thought. She turns the music up.

"Yeah," she softly says.

Alison realizes what she has said and grips the steering wheel tighter. Her knuckles turn white.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up," Ali says.

Emily shakes her head. "You didn't bring it up. It's fine. I'll have my mom there, and my friends. And I'm sure my dad is watching from somewhere."

She is not sure. She has not been sure of anything since he died. No, she was sure when she said yes atop the Eiffel Tower. Maybe that is why she feels so willing to endanger herself by seeing CeCe Drake again.

"I…" Ali shuts her mouth and decides she will avoid speaking for the rest of this trip.

Emily picks up her fiancée's iPhone. "You have Dolly Parton?"

"Just one song," Alison fiercely defends. "I like it."

"I'm not judging. I have weird songs too," Emily says, a small smile creeping onto her face.

They arrive at last. Emily remains frozen in her seat while Alison gets out of her car, grabs her purse and shuts the door. Still, Emily cannot will her legs to move.

Emily opens the passenger site door and looks at her fiancée.

"This will be okay. I promise you that," says Ali, extending a hand.

Emily takes a deep breath and takes it.

She will meet Charlotte, because she loves Alison, because she has always loved Alison.

* * *

"You remember Emily, don't you?" says Alison once they greet her sister and the two of them spend a few moments chitchatting.

Emily thinks she might faint as she listen to the pleasantries.

"Hard to forget," CeCe states, flashing a smile that makes Emily want to run. "She was always your favorite, wasn't she?"

"Speaking of that," says Ali as she takes Emily's left hand and holds it up. "I bought her this very stylish and expensive ring."

"That's a big gift."

"It's an engagement ring," Alison says, "and I want you at the wedding. I know I can arrange it for you. Your doctor is so nice and helpful and I bet he'd agree to you coming to such an important occasion, don't you think?"

"Yeah." CeCe shrugs. Emily gets chills when she sees a confident smirk on her lips. "I wouldn't miss your wedding for the world." She looks at Emily, her eyes sparkling, and Emily subconsciously takes a few steps back towards the door. "You're a scaredy cat, huh?"

"No. I'm—I just have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back, Ali." Emily walks out of the room and wanders through the halls until she finds and exit. She gasps in deep breaths of the fresh air outdoors and tries to calm herself down.

The memories come back like a flood. Everything. Every detail, more than just fragments. She shakes and trembles when they invade her mind and refuse to leave her alone.

Emily squeezes her eyes shut and tries to remember why she is doing this.

For Alison.

* * *

Emily and Ali arrive at the Brew first, and wait for the other women. Aria, Spencer and Hanna had met up at the airport earlier and Emily sits, focused on her coffee, when Hanna covers her eyes and grins. The girls take pictures and talk and no one mentions the wedding until they all have settled down.

"Let me see the ring," Hanna asks, reaching for Emily's hand. She takes it in hers and grins at the sparkling diamonds. "That rock could knock out a bear!"

"Hopefully I won't ever have to do that," Emily says with a small laugh.

Hanna turns to Aria. "Well, now we know how Em and Ali have been, so, Aria, how's Jason?"

"Good. Really good." Aria smiles fondly.

"How's Capitol Hill?" Emily asks Spencer.

"So exciting. Every day there's just something new to accomplish. I'm climbing the ladder," she replies with a smile, which Emily thinks only Spencer would believe.

"The engagement party is at the new Radley?" Aria asks, turning to Emily.

"Yeah."

"You'll love it," states Hanna. "The new owner has great taste in décor. You barely can tell the place was a creepy loony bin."

"Barely?" asks Ali, the first time she has spoken today.

"Yeah, barely," Hanna brightly says without a second thought. "But I chose the paint and that means it's way amazing."

Alison smiles. "Well, we'll all see it this afternoon. Em and I are having the little informal engagement party there." She suddenly stands up. "I have to go take care of a few things for the party. Have fun."

She kisses Emily on the cheek, bringing a light blush to her nose. The other women bid their old friend goodbye in equally awkward ways and she leaves the Brew.

The afternoon goes smoothly, which is all Emily could have hoped for.

But the evening does not.

The girls gather in the Radley for a lovely dinner, garbed in fashionable semi-formal clothes. Emily sits with Aria, Spencer and Hanna while they wait for Alison's arrival.

Aria discusses her job at the publishing house and her strong relationship with Jason. Hanna speaks highly of her work as an assistant, most of it being a half-truth. Spencer gives a long talk with several words Hanna does not understand, and then explains her mother's campaign to be senator. Emily keeps quiet while her stomach ties up in knots. She worries things will not go well between Ali and the other girls.

"So, do any of you know how Ezra has been?" Aria inquires, for she is the only one who has not returned to Rosewood even once. She fears the place more than the rest of them.

Emily explains, "He moved into the apartment above the Brew. He… doesn't go out much."

Every young woman tries to think of a way to change the subject from the man who left Aria and lost his other girlfriend to revolutionaries.

"How did Ali propose?" Hanna asks, the attention turning to the wedding for the first time. She her martini while smiling into her glass.

"On top of the Eiffel Tower," Emily answers and Hanna's eyes light up.

"That's actually really romantic," she says, setting down her strong but fruity drink.

She smiles, seeming truly happy for Emily and Alison. But seconds later it fades from her face and Emily shoots her puzzled glance. Then, slowly, everyone else seems crestfallen and pallid.

Emily swiftly turns around and she blanches.

This engagement party has an unexpected guest.


End file.
